LOS ANGELES – When it was announced last week that Chael Sonnen vs. Quinton Jackson would be the Bellator 192 main event, Rory MacDonald admits he was taken aback.

MacDonald  (19-4 MMA, 1-0 BMMA) didn’t get a call from president Scott Coker or anyone else from the promotion to inform him that his welterweight title fight vs. champ Douglas Lima (29-6 MMA, 11-2 BMMA) had been bumped down to co-headliner. He found out through the media like everyone else.

“Out of the blue. Didn’t see it coming,” MacDonald said of Bellator’s decision during today’s open workouts. “… Total shocker. Didn’t really know how to take it. I understand why the decision was made. After hearing why and everything, it’s their business. That’s how they want to run things. My business is in the cage, so I’m focused on that.”

Does MacDonald plan on having a conversation with Coker this week about the snub? No.

He’s in a zone.

“It’s not something I want to have a discussion with someone and then they tell me something that’s going to affect me negatively,” MacDonald said. “I’m in a positive space right now. I’m focused on going out there and doing my thing. I’m just staying in that mind frame. I’m not going to get distracted with all these political things. My business is the fighting, so I’m just going to focus on that.”

Bellator 192 takes place Saturday at The Forum in Inglewood, Calif., and airs on the new Paramount Network (formerly Spike). In front of MacDonald is a huge opportunity to stake his claim as the best 170-pounder in the world.

MacDonald’s been in a similar position before. In 2015, he lost to then-UFC champ Robbie Lawler in a grueling, bloody battle that was named “Fight of the Year.”

The expectation for MacDonald when he signed with Bellator last year was that he would soon compete for the title. After a second-round submission win over Paul Daley last May at Bellator 179 in his debut, the opportunity immediately presented itself.

MacDonald, as you might expect, is relaxed as ever about what’s at stake.

“There’s really no anxiety about losing in my mind,” he said. “I feel like a champion already. I just got to go out there and do exactly what I did through training camp, and it’s going to happen.”

“These are the moments that you dream about as a fighter, to be a world champion,” MacDonald continued. “Lima is a world-class competitor. Even though he’s never fought in the UFC, I could see him competing against champions in the UFC any day. I took this fight very serious, trained very hard for this, and I’m ready to take what’s mine.”

For more on Bellator 192, check out the MMA Rumors section of the site.